Mexico: Singer Accused of Rape Tweets in Defense · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

This past week, a 28-year-old pop singer known as Kalimba was accused of rape by two underage girls.
The girls were hired for a one-night event at a bar as models. They decided not to charge any money for their work as they felt it was good enough to be in the same event as the famous singer. After the event, the girls went to the singer's hotel, where the alleged rape took place.
In Mexico, to have sex with a minor is punishable by law.
The next day, the girls went back to the airport with the singer.
Mexicans following the story are divided in their opinions: Some believe that the girls are taking advantage of the singer in order to get fame and monetary benefits; others think the girls where just victims of a famous singer who thinks he can have whatever he wants.
Microphone image by Flickr user ganatronic used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license
Kalimba's (@KalimbaMX) recent tweets mention his prayers and his faith and loyalty to God:
Independientemente de lo que pase, gracias a todos lo que creen en la  verdad. DIOS los bendiga. Seamos fuertes en oracion. Be blessed.
Es gran error humano creer que DIOS te abndona en los problemas y nos  deja solos. No es hipocrecia, es fe! Conozco a mi DIOS. Be blessed
His fans have also defended him through Twitter, like Monserrat Sotelo (@BarbieMonse) [es] and Kenya Alvarez (@Jeiimyy):
kalimba stamos contigo animo amigo hechale ganas ya sabes q estas 2chicas solo kieren hacer pedazos tu vida y tu carrera tqm ….
Other Twitter users are disappointed that the case is getting so much media and public attention. Ce (@csita22) tweets:
Entre si soy acuario o no, y si kalimba es culpable o no, casi me distraigo de lo realmente importante… Que voy a hacer por mi pais hoy??
In a similar tone, El Silenciero (@ElSilenciero) [es] condemns that the media is reporting more on Kalimba's case than on the murder of poet and activist Susana Chavez.
The blog Hazme el Chingado Favor compared [es] the whole situation to a soap opera:
La telenovela nacional esta dominada últimamente por la historia de Kalimba que es acusado de violar a dos menores de edad. Sobra decir que para este tipo de noticias nos pintamos solos con chistes
Finally, Félix Rivera in the column “Sexo Ilícito” (Illicit Sex) at Vanguardia, expressed his concern about the news [es], inviting Mexican society to judge this case in a fair way:
En todo caso, Kalimba no  se ha cansado de declararse inocente. Y aunque el público prefiera la  “versión picante” en la que todos se lo imaginan sosteniendo relaciones  sexuales con dos muchachas ebrias, también cabe la posibilidad de que  efectivamente no haya sucedido nada. En todo caso, lo más importante es  que esta situación se resuelva con justicia y que si de todos modos  alguien resulta culpable, se pague el delito conforme a la ley.
In any case, Kalimba has not given up and he has always said he is not guilty. And while the public prefers the “spicy version” in which they all imagine him having sex with two drunk girls, it is also possible that actually nothing has happened. In any case, the most important thing is that this situation will be resolved with justice and that if someone is guilty, he/she pays the offense under the law.
Kalimba denies having sexually abused both minors. If the singer is found guilty by Mexican authorities, he will be sentenced to prison.